CHARTER ARMS AR-7

[GBExpat]

A buddy of mine bought an AR-7 in early '80s.

He was a James Bond aficionado. He had nagged me into selling him my first Walther and he carried a gunmetal-colored lighter (he bought one for me, too ... I still have it).

Anyway ...

I recall the first time that we went shooting (open fields) when he brought that AR-7.

Pretty quickly he started complaining about how the thing was always so inaccurate.

I suggested he let me take a look ...

... I found that the barrel nut was not tight, TIGHTened it up and started eliminating the middle of his target.

I told him to make sure that nut is TIGHT and it will be accurate.

He was a bit embarrassed, being a Vietnam combat-Vet, but he wasn't a real Gun Guy ... and I just laughed it off and told him a couple of stupid-GBExpat-with-gun stories so he felt better about the whole thing.

 

[stoky]

Mine had a scope mount built into an extra action cover. The cover was removed (one screw, coin comparable) and replaced with the one with the scope.
Not many rifles can float.

 

[22250Rem]

if you have a chance shoot 100 rds thru it and post accuracy and cycling results

.......Dug out my shooting logbook and checked....... That Henry has a total of 146 rounds through it but I didn't record what ammo was used. I do know that I use a lot of CCI Blazer for general plinking and I may have run some CCI mini-mags through it. I'm gonna start recording what gets used ammo-wise concerning that thing in the future. I will say that in those 146 rounds I can't recall any problems, and accuracy seems decent for iron sights. It's been fired by 4 different folks, too. Me, my son, my step-grand-daughter, and a friend of mine whose property we sometimes shoot on. If I wanna shoot .22's there's others that I enjoy more so this one will probably spend most of its time inside its own stock in a dark corner of a gun safe. It's one of those guns bought out of curiosity and just nice to have around (doesn't take up much space) but I'm not planning on making a habit of taking it out too often. Glad I learned that there are specific guidelines for ammo, (threads like this are very educational) and I should have read the owners manual better. But still wondering (not that it matters to me) if maybe Charter Arms AR-7's could have the same ammo sensitivity as the Henry version?

 

[hdwhit]

I bought an AR7 in the early 1980s. It worked fine for me. After about a year, I sold it to a friend who abused it terribly and pronounced it a "jam-o-matic". He sold it back to me. I tore it down, cleaned it thoroughly, refinished it as best I could, put it back together and it resumed working. It has since reached the point where after about twenty rounds it will start failing to extract, but I think a thorough cleaning using Howard J's recipe might help resolve that.

 

[salt&battery]

.......Dug out my shooting logbook and checked....... That Henry has a total of 146 rounds through it but I didn't record what ammo was used. I do know that I use a lot of CCI Blazer for general plinking and I may have run some CCI mini-mags through it. I'm gonna start recording what gets used ammo-wise concerning that thing in the future. I will say that in those 146 rounds I can't recall any problems, and accuracy seems decent for iron sights. It's been fired by 4 different folks, too. Me, my son, my step-grand-daughter, and a friend of mine whose property we sometimes shoot on. If I wanna shoot .22's there's others that I enjoy more so this one will probably spend most of its time inside its own stock in a dark corner of a gun safe. It's one of those guns bought out of curiosity and just nice to have around (doesn't take up much space) but I'm not planning on making a habit of taking it out too often. Glad I learned that there are specific guidelines for ammo, (threads like this are very educational) and I should have read the owners manual better. But still wondering (not that it matters to me) if maybe Charter Arms AR-7's could have the same ammo sensitivity as the Henry version?

glad your AR-7 was OK for you. to me they are a lot of fun to shoot like 50- 75 rounds

 

[Speedo66]

Back when I had mine, I only used hi-speed .22's, hollow points and solids. The gun was non-discriminatory, it wouldn't function properly with either one.

 

[natman]

even if it jams here and there it is a survival gun not made to win the Olympics or hold off mass human wave assault. it is not a FWB or a water cooled machine gun. if you are lost and hungry you fire one shot at a time.

If there was one time I'd want absolute reliability in a piece of equipment, it would be in a survival gun. Rationalize it to yourself however you want, the fact remains that the AR-7's reputation as unreliable is well deserved.

 

[salt&battery]

If there was one time I'd want absolute reliability in a piece of equipment, it would be in a survival gun. Rationalize it to yourself however you want, the fact remains that the AR-7's reputation as unreliable is well deserved.

do you mean reliability is to fire 25 rounds as fast as you can pull the trigger at a squirrel? if the gun turned into a single shot that is all you need for game. the worst that happened to the rifle is after 3-4 shots it might jam maybe. remember the folding survival gun I think for the air force that was made with a 410 and a 22 that was single shot and was made by springfield armoury for a while?

 

[Dr T]

GBExpat, It is interesting that you bring up the James Bond connection. I saw the particular movie a couple of months ago. As I recall, it was the version with the removable scope (mentioned by stoky above) and in the script it was called a "point two five calibre" rifle (Q could do wonders with firearms). (And I believe that there once was an article in HANDLOADER about how to make souped-up 25 ACP rounds for very special applications).

 

[highlander 5]

Had an AR 7 made by Armalite some 40 +years ago,fun gun and as I recall it never jammed but if it got real dirty it would go FA. I just removed the action plate wiped out the crud and back to normal

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I have an ArmaLite AR-7 Explorer rifle bought used 1994 and a Charter Arms AR-7 Explorer II pistol bought used 2002. While parts do interchange, the Charter receiver and sideplate are not as well finished internally as the ArmaLite.
Checking that "5 Things to Know about the Henry U.S. Survival AR-7" uh, the Armalite, Charter Arms, and Henry magazines I have seen have all been steel with a feedramp at the front of the magazine, so that's not the new point.
The older ArmaLite and Charter mags had two pinch marks top front to tension the cartridge and keep it from popping up too high. Henry introduced a magazine with a outside spring to help guide cartridges to the breech of the barrel.

Some of the aftermarket magazines seem to be softer metal than the original manufacturer and easier bent. My Charter Explorer II came with one presumably original magazine. I bought an aftermarket magazine supposedly made specifically for the Charter which gave me feed problems until I followed the original as a guide and duplicated the pinch marks.
Last winter I got a 15 round aftermarket magazine and fiddled with it. The best I could do was 12 rounds. As you stack .22LR cartridges they form an arc; go past 8 rounds with a straight back magazine, the top cartridges tend to nosedive into the front of the magazine, not the feedramp.
The AR-7 magazines are dimensioned for full length cartridges with 40gr round nose bullets. If you want to use truncated cone or flatnose hollowpoint bullets, don't go for full capacity. (It would be interesting to see how the AR-7 functions with the .22LR 40gr FMJ issued in WWII as aircrew survival ammo with the Savage 24, but that ammo itself is now collectible.)
Compare the weight of an AR-7 bolt and its twin recoil springs to those of a Ruger MkII pistol or Marlin M60 rifle: you need to use high velocity ammunition. In magazines designated to my Explorer rifle, I have two Armalite, two Henry and one aftermarket all 8 shot which ran well after left loaded with six rounds of CCI Stinger hollowpoint for over a year. Last trip to the mountain, the two magazines designated to my Explorer II pistol ran well with eight rounds of CCI Minimag 40gr roundnose.
AR-7 magazines are subject to the usual problems of all magazines: sprung feed lips and worn catch notches. A damaged magazine can be repaired to match a good one. The problems I have had with the AR-7 have all been related to magazine condition and use of ammo other than 40gr roundnose high velocity.

 

[salt&battery]

I have an ArmaLite AR-7 Explorer rifle bought used 1994 and a Charter Arms AR-7 Explorer II pistol bought used 2002. While parts do interchange, the Charter receiver and sideplate are not as well finished internally as the ArmaLite.
Checking that "5 Things to Know about the Henry U.S. Survival AR-7" uh, the Armalite, Charter Arms, and Henry magazines I have seen have all been steel with a feedramp at the front of the magazine, so that's not the new point.
The older ArmaLite and Charter mags had two pinch marks top front to tension the cartridge and keep it from popping up too high. Henry introduced a magazine with a outside spring to help guide cartridges to the breech of the barrel.

Some of the aftermarket magazines seem to be softer metal than the original manufacturer and easier bent. My Charter Explorer II came with one presumably original magazine. I bought an aftermarket magazine supposedly made specifically for the Charter which gave me feed problems until I followed the original as a guide and duplicated the pinch marks.
Last winter I got a 15 round aftermarket magazine and fiddled with it. The best I could do was 12 rounds. As you stack .22LR cartridges they form an arc; go past 8 rounds with a straight back magazine, the top cartridges tend to nosedive into the front of the magazine, not the feedramp.
The AR-7 magazines are dimensioned for full length cartridges with 40gr round nose bullets. If you want to use truncated cone or flatnose hollowpoint bullets, don't go for full capacity. (It would be interesting to see how the AR-7 functions with the .22LR 40gr FMJ issued in WWII as aircrew survival ammo with the Savage 24, but that ammo itself is now collectible.)
Compare the weight of an AR-7 bolt and its twin recoil springs to those of a Ruger MkII pistol or Marlin M60 rifle: you need to use high velocity ammunition. In magazines designated to my Explorer rifle, I have two Armalite, two Henry and one aftermarket all 8 shot which ran well after left loaded with six rounds of CCI Stinger hollowpoint for over a year. Last trip to the mountain, the two magazines designated to my Explorer II pistol ran well with eight rounds of CCI Minimag 40gr roundnose.
AR-7 magazines are subject to the usual problems of all magazines: sprung feed lips and worn catch notches. A damaged magazine can be repaired to match a good one. The problems I have had with the AR-7 have all been related to magazine condition and use of ammo other than 40gr roundnose high velocity.

will the new henry mags fit the older charter arms rifle?

 

[Carl N. Brown]

to salt&battery, the Henry U.S. Survival AR-7 magazines fit my Armalite AR-7 Explorer rifle and my Charter AR-7 Explorer II pistol. The added spring sits in a groove in the magazine that does not touch the sides of the magazine well.

I imagine a lot of old .22 rifles sold with one "clip" were dismissed as junk when the real problem was the fit and wear on the detachable box magazine.

 

[salt&battery]

to salt&battery, the Henry U.S. Survival AR-7 magazines fit my Armalite AR-7 Explorer rifle and my Charter AR-7 Explorer II pistol. The added spring sits in a groove in the magazine that does not touch the sides of the magazine well.

I imagine a lot of old .22 rifles sold with one "clip" were dismissed as junk when the real problem was the fit and wear on the detachable box magazine.

thanks a lot I will try to order 2 mags from henry. mine seen alright but they are old. most problems with semi autos are solved with good mags

 

[22250Rem]

While we're on this subject I noticed a book on my bookshelf titled "THE BOOK OF THE TWENTY-TWO" by Sam Fadala. Published by Stoeger Publishing Co.. Copyright 1989. Chapter 20 is titled, "THE 22 SURVIVAL GUN" and is five pages long. It covers using any 22 rimfire in survival situations but the Charter Arms AR-7 did merit a few paragraphs, (the Henry wasn't around back then). The author claimed his personal AR-7 "Was put through rugged tests, which it passed superbly." But there was no mention of ammo preferences or any details about magazines. The final paragraph in chapter 20 states:.... "The 22 survival gun is for real. It is a firearm with broader use than meets the eye. My AR-7 has not yet served to provide food under dire circumstance, but it certainly has come in handy. A number of times the little rifle was fit together for incidental small-game hunting that I didn't know was coming up. And should the unwanted occasion present itself, that little rifle may be called upon to provide a meal or signal for help. The rest of the time, it will, as the famous poem goes, "stand and wait", which, as the scholars have shown, does not mean standing around doing nothing, but rather standing by to serve its master as the need arises"................. Well said, Mr. Fadala.

 

[loose noose]

After reading the posts here, especially on magazines, I noted mine came with a 7round mag, and sometime later I ordered an after market mag that was 8 rounds, note both worked fine, however the butt cap wouldn't go back on with the 8 round as it protruded just enough to prevent the butt cap from going back on. Never did try the 15 round mag, in fact a buddy of mine stated he had used one, and never had a problem with it, the problem was he had got rid of his years before, so I can't verify his claim.

 

[Kingcreek]

I had one in the 70's. I bought it to take on canoe trips and camping and such- thought it would be fun. It jammed and failed to fire 6-7x out of every 10.
What a frustrating piece of crap. I wished it would sink so I could throw the damn thing in a river. Some guy saw it one day at a public range and thought it was a cool idea and offered me $50 for it, even though I told him what it was and even let him shoot it. He said he didn't care and I took his money and sold him a rifle.

 

[salt&battery]

I had one in the 70's. I bought it to take on canoe trips and camping and such- thought it would be fun. It jammed and failed to fire 6-7x out of every 10.
What a frustrating piece of crap. I wished it would sink so I could throw the damn thing in a river. Some guy saw it one day at a public range and thought it was a cool idea and offered me $50 for it, even though I told him what it was and even let him shoot it. He said he didn't care and I took his money and sold him a rifle.

maybe he knew if he got the right mag the rifle would work. why would you bring it to the range if it didn't work? maybe to try other types of ammo

 

[natman]

do you mean reliability is to fire 25 rounds as fast as you can pull the trigger at a squirrel? if the gun turned into a single shot that is all you need for game. the worst that happened to the rifle is after 3-4 shots it might jam maybe. remember the folding survival gun I think for the air force that was made with a 410 and a 22 that was single shot and was made by springfield armoury for a while?

Reliable means it does what it is supposed to when you ask it to. If I have a single shot I know it's going to be a single shot and can plan accordingly. If I have a semiauto it had better perform as a semiauto. An AR-7 won't feed reliably nor will it fire reliably. You can keep trying to rationalize owning an unreliable gun with this single shot smoke screen, but the hard cold fact is the AR-7 is an outstandingly unreliable gun and no amount of word games is going to change that.

 

[salt&battery]

Reliable means it does what it is supposed to when you ask it to. If I have a single shot I know it's going to be a single shot and can plan accordingly. If I have a semiauto it had better perform as a semiauto. An AR-7 won't feed reliably nor will it fire reliably. You can keep trying to rationalize owning an unreliable gun with this single shot smoke screen, but the hard cold fact is the AR-7 is an outstandingly unreliable gun and no amount of word games is going to change that.

if you have a single shot would you plan to stay away from human wave assaults? do you realize the rifle was just supposed to be a fun gun and if need be with some luck would keep you alive. how about this, the rifle cost barely 100 bucks. make a list of what you would want this rifle to do? I have seen $2-3000 dollar 1911's that would not feed correctly. should there be 100's of guys going on line saying 1911's are no good? or just say I got a bad one. if you read all the posts most of the guys said theirs worked.

 

[Speedo66]

Maybe most people are too disgusted to even discuss them. I'm about at that point. I will say, unequivocally, it was the worst functioning gun I've ever owned. Despite two trips back to the factory, the one thing I could rely upon was its steadfast unreliability.

 

[Thunderchicken]

Whoever suggested I adjust the sights on my new AR-7, you may not be a genius, but you're way ahead of me. I pulled out the laser boresighter gizmo I bought last year when there was a sale at Cabelas and now I think it will hit much closer to point of aim. Funny how a little shame can motivate a person.

There seems to be a lot of distaste for the AR-7 on THR. I guess I might've lucked out, or the Henry version is more reliable, or a little of both. I'm hoping it will good one to keep in the car in case the grandkids get a chance for a bit of plinking with grandpa. The oldest are going to be eight this summer, so I think I can start them this year. I guess realistically, my takedown 10/22 would be a good thing for that too, except it takes up a *little* more space. Well, most people in the nursing home don't say "I wish I'd bought less guns."

Incidentally, I've got a theory that few cars are designed with stowing a rifle in the trunk in mind. I stepped up recently in size to a Subaru Outback from a VW GTI hoping that I could at least fit my Mini 14 case in the back. Turned out I didn't research enough: the seats have NO room under them for a pistol case,sitting flat on the floor, so it has to go in the console. But I can even cram my M-1 in the wayback, if there's nothing else in there. Of course, that never is the case...

 

[mstreddy]

I have two of them, a Charter and a Henry. I also have a third that was basically free, as it was missing some parts and the stock is cracked. I've gotten the parts and have some ideas on the stock repair. I also have the Explorer pistol as well.

They are an inexpensive, cool looking little rifles and they can be a lot of fun at the range.

I agree with Carl, the magazines are what you have to worry about. Some of them get loose at the feed lips and will not feed the rounds properly into the chamber. I'll have to see if I can get some of the new ones from Henry.